paris treats

candy shelves at A L'Etoile d'Or

We took another trip to Paris last week, primarily to see The White Stripes, but food is always on the agenda. Each day, I tried to hit at least one of the major sweet spots on my list (someday I'll have time to visit them all).

First stop: A L'Etoile d'Or (30, rue Fontaine, 9th, M: Blanche)

A delightful candy shop, which along with its owner, are quite famous (read more here) and rightly so. We spent about 30 minutes there, persuing the small shop and chatting with the owner. I got a selection of chocolates (including a €9.80 Bernachon chocolate bar, which I'm afraid to eat), while Ty got lollipops and hard candies. Favorite moment (or most embaressing): my son was begging for a treat and the owner selected one from our package, carefully unwrapped it and fed it to him. He immediately spit it out, saying "gross!" (I ate the candy and it was delicious). He's very picky when it comes to sweets.

outside the shop

with the friendly owner, Denise Acabo

Next stop: Pierre Hermé (72 rue Bonaparte, 6th, M: Saint-Germain-des-Prés)

Last Paris trip, I knew enough that I had to try real Parisian macaroons. But after more research, I learned that the macaroons from Pierre Hermé are considered the absolute best. So we made a short detour on our way to Jardin de Luxemberg to get me some. The shop on 72 rue Bonaparte was pretty, but no fun at all - too fancy. I came for the macaroons, but I would have liked to try other things if there had been time or room for browsing. The macaroons were indeed amazing - perfect texture and very interesting flavor combos. My favorite was the Olive Oil & Vanilla - so smooth. Favorite moment: I let my son pick one and outside the shop he crammed the whole thing in his mouth at once. At about €72/kilo, that's an expensive treat.

Mosaic (pistache & griottine)

worst packaging ever, all smushy

Ty's yummy Cheese-Cake Mosaic,
victim of more bad packaging


outside the shop (to prove we really went there)

Last stop: Berthillon (29-31 rue saint Louis en l'ile, 4th, M: Pont Marie)

It rained the day we finally got around to visiting the most famous ice cream shop in Paris, noted for using only natural ingredients. We tried caramel, strawberry, frais de bois (special strawberry), and cherry. It was good, for sure, but a little underwhelming. The shop was small and unassuming. The scoops were teeny, tiny (I usually appreciate smaller, reasonable portions, but seriously, these were tiny scoops - my son got his in a cup and the tiny scoop just rolled sadly around in there). Perhaps the build-up was too much. While I enjoyed it, I don't think I'd make the special effort next time to truck across town to get there.

outside the shop

enjoying a little frais de bois